Cloth cutter for cloth spreading machines and having reciprocable cutter disks



R. E. SAYLES CLOTH CUTTER FOR CLOTH SPREADING MACHINES AND HAVING RECIPROCABLE CUTTER DISK Feb. 23, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 24, 1950 Niall; w w Rm m r M i f n hw m nw m a r @i l H m A rraRWEK Feb. 23, 1954 R. E. SAYLES 2,670,040

CLOTH CUTTER FOR CLOTH SPREADING MACHINES ANDHAVING RECIFROCABLE CUTTER DISK Filed July 24, 1950 a Sheets-Sheet 2 mu IM umu I.

vA??? M2 TTOR/YE K Feb. 23, 1954 R. E. SAYLES 2,670, 40 CLOTH CUTTER FOR CLOTH SPREADING MACHINES AND HAVING RECIPROCABLE CUTTER DISK Filed July 24, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR.

ATmR'NEY.

Patented Feb. 23, 1954 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE CLOTH CUTTER FQR CLOTH SPR-EADING MACHINES AND HAVING RECIPRGCABLE CUTTER DISKS 6 Claims.

This invention relates to automatic cutters for cloth and textile fabrics generally, the primary object being to provide a rotatable cutter disc that reciprocates simultaneously with its rotative movement, whereby the same may be moved into cutting engagement with a strip of cloth and sever the same as the cloth is traversed.

It is one of the most important objects of this invention to provide a cloth cutter of the kind that is particularly adapted for mounting upon and use in connection with a cloth-spreading machine such as disclosed in my U. S. Letters Patent, No. 2,478,840, dated August 9, 1946.

An important object of this invention has to do with the provision of a disc-like cloth cutter rotatably mounted upon a rotatable shaft and reciprocable on the shaft, there being structure interconnecting the shaft and the cutter for not only reciprocating the same but imparting rtative motion thereto whereby cloth may be severed as the cutter traverses the same.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a cloth-cutter including the assemblage of parts just above mentioned, all

of which is mounted as a unit on a frame that is in turn vertically reciprocable so that the cutter disc may be raised and lowered to suit the desires and needs of the operator.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a cutter assembly mounted upon a vertically reciprocable frame, which frame is in turn mounted upon a mobile framework that includes a part of the cloth spreading mechanism whereby the cloth may be spread from a roll thereof and cut into predetermined lengths with ease and I speed.

Other objects of the present invention include many novel details of construction, all of which will be made clear or become apparent as the following specification progresses, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a cloth spreading machine showing the cloth cutter of the present invention operably mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, elevational view showing that side opposite to Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, top plan view thereof.

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the cloth cutting assembly.

Fig. 5 is a transverse, vertical, cross-sectional view taken on line VV of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6 is a vertical, cross-sectional view on a slightly enlarged scale taken on line VI--VI of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, top plan M view of the reciprocable cutter disc carriage per se and associated parts and taken on line VII-VII of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on line VIIIVIII of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged, rear elevational view of the carriage assembly per so similar to the il-. lustration thereof in Fig. 5.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on line X--X of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken on line.

XI-XI of Fig. 1.

A fully explained in my patent above identi-- fled, users of fabrics such as manufacturers of clothing customarily utilize cloth spreading machines that are capable of automatically removing the cloth from a bolt thereof and spreading the same in a plurality of superimposed layers of predetermined lengths.

- In the machine disclosed in said patent, structure is provided to permit continuous spreading of the cloth by reciprocating the spreader without the necessity of severing the fabric at each.

end of the path of travel of the mobile cloth spreader. However, there are many cloth spreading machines in use today that are incapable of spreading cloth in both directions unless the cloth at each end thereof irrespective of whether or not a machine such as disclosed in my prior patent, is placed in use.

The cloth spreading machine that has been chosen for illustration and upon which the cloth cutting assembly is mounted, is broadly designated by the numeral [2, and includes a mobile frame l4 having a pair of opposed U-shaped sidemembers It. The uppermost end of one leg of the U-shaped members I6, is bifurcated for ro.

tatably receiving a bolt of cloth l8 as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

It has an upstanding arm, one only of which is shown in the drawings and designated by the numeral 20. Arms 20 rotatably carry an idler.

drum 22 at the uppermost ends thereof for re-' 'ceiving the cloth 24 from roll I8 thereof.

Each frame member cludes a pair of spaced-apart, upright'platesa' lm and 42 that are in turn connected with that leg of the frame members I6 having rollers -26 and 28 thereon. A pair of interconnecting 'strap's'M hold the plate 40 in place above the silriace-fit and a similar pair of straps 46 pivotally join the plate 42 with the proximal frame member I65 Through such pivotal connection of the straps 46; aadrrve 1 wheel; 483011310 zfrictionallylrengages surface 3 B wilt. always tremain: in contact with the latter, irrespective of slight unevennesszin; such-lsur-taeeffizui Driveziwheeh ifi iszrotatably mounted on a bracket 50 extendingerearwardly iromzp'l'ateikzinearathe zlowermostend of the'la'tter. .1 Bracket' fifiialsd earri'es aneover riding. clutch (not shown) within a HOHS'iI'lgTAEZ; A pairof in"- termeshingige'arsfill 25151111 G 'OHithE SXIGLfOI wheel 48 and connected with the aforesaid clutch re specttvelypimpartrotatixie-tmovement from wheel 48 to a sprocket wheel 58, also operabl yi connected. witlmlsaidsclutc'hz; An endless chain: 60 is trained oventsprocketawheeh 58:1: and .1 a second: sprocket wheelafiZ-a the flatter oft which: is secured: to': an: elcngatedi ifrictionn drum 41 rotatably: mounted betweenzarrdiiuponxthe' upright plates 40 and 42 adjacentctheznppermost 'endssrct thexl'atter; shown in Figs. 1, 2 and ficot .the.=drawings, cloth.

Zhpassesaover drumzfi l' as'zit:'emanates-tfrom rol- A2;secondaryafraane;"broadlyidesignatedcby' the numeral fifigiis mountedafor 'verticalstreciproca ti'on; between. the" platesv40 i and .421; an'd includes adpa-irsszofzispacedapart blocks'108":and.. slid'able'- uponnth'ercinnermosti tfacesa-ioirplatescand 4213 respectively. Blockszfiii and: 'lware rigidly finter connected :a: :p air: ofs cross rodsii ze and I 4 the: latterlrbeingli disposed; forwardly ct .the-i'blocksa 68:

and 'tflraandz-platestmlzancbfl by meansrof laterz-w allyiextending brackets- .1161. Lateral movement oflthiarblockszfiB andz'm-wi thrrespect tcitheip'lat'esr 40: and: 42a-is preventedlbw utilization of: guides 'tflandeamrespectively; one *ofithelatter:also-serv as aebase: tsupport'sforrl a revasible' electric" An; elongated z'shalfitsi 84 ':spanning: the rdistancec betweenzi'the blocksvfi8: -and I0: anda'rotatably-caw:

rieciiithiereby; is iprovidedswithi a helical-1grcove- 86 extending throughout thexentirdtlngth thereofand with a longitudinal slot-a8 MotonxB Z is z'operably. icoupleduwithi the shaft Miter rotating 'the l-attenbycmeans of: an endless chaimBIIzi r:

4 AZtcarriagertakingfi'thei terror of: apolygorialt atable' therewith-1 Emch'v unitary 1* rotation" of shaft 84- and =gear I00: is accomplished through;

utilization of a key I02 rigid to gear I00 and ex tending into slot for sliding movement along the latter. Block 92 additionally carries a freely rotatable plug I04 that extends into groove 80 and is releasably held in place by a small disc I00 on the uppermost face of block 92. Block 92 is held against rotative movement by means of overhanging Jfingers I00" chi the uppermost facethereofthat ride alongthe u permost edge of an elongated bar H0 joining the two blocks 60 and I0 at the outermost edges of the latter and immediately-,below guides I8.

Block 92 also carries a pair of oppositely facingLl-SEItMg-rldeidied:plunger-s H2 and H4 as well asa U-shaped actuating bracket IIE for a reciprocab'lerow'Im, which bracket II6 partially embraces asshown in Fig. 8. Rod H8 overlies block 92 and shaft 84 in parallelism with the latter and is carried by the blocks 68 and I0 for a limited reciprocation along the longitudinal axis oi 'ro c1211 84 Rod -I I0 is ope'rablyrconnectedfwith a' reversingi s'wit'ch" I 2-0aforvmctor 82 through tog? gle-ilinka'ge tzztaland ccllars' t24' adjacent o'ppo site' e'nds uof='.'the rods H8; limit. movement of" sprihgszIZIi coiled; about: rod-'3 l I 8= when the latter areengaged byr-the bracket H6.- Limit=switclres- I23 and I30; carried rbyiblo'cksi-w and w respec tively, are: in 1 alignment with zplumgers I I 2 and I I 4 :respectively w mocks: 68 and -"I0 carry-bump? e1 5" I 29 alr'w'snl 31 repetitively: within: thepatha'oiit travel of: 1 block: 92 for absorbingsthes 'shock as block 0 2 .-is stopped: lat-"each"; 56nd of I its pathecif traveL- V A: secondar'yibar I 3 zalsomsecured :to blocks 68 F and 10b is held: away from the zproximal iaceofl r bar I 50 byia :pair-of spacers I 34g=and it is between? the bars I't-z and IN -that thecloth 24- is "thread r ed: in" :its vertical stretch ::froin frictionwdrum 64* as is clearin' Fig;- 6 of theadrawingsi A shields I fifi rinterposed between 1 spacers- $154+ and bar IIO has:am-aipronIEthat itsupperrriost" end that-overlies *the'blocks' r fi'fl and'z I 0 between platesml fla and 42.31 A- second "shield? I-40' betweemspacers=-t34 and --bar= I 32-; hasi outwardly en-r tending-.- apron I42 at 1 its-=- uppermostmen'dl' 1 that: overliesi ithe 'uppermostnedge" oi"- bar? I32 between blocks- 2 08 rand-;: thereby; presenting a: funnellike construction to]: 'receivihgn-thecloth 24.

It is notable that :ther 'cuttera "disc 9 0' is disposed betweenl rod: 14 and the lowermost 1 edges: of-=thebars==lzt0 and I'3-2 and that' the 'cloth -24rv-iSw threa'ded between ro ct 14 anclZthe proximak edgesof blocks. fiil'r andr. 1:0

'I h'e'entire secondary. fira meifid inc'lud irig blocks IBE-andhaving a pair at opposedgrindingzwheelsr I58 that are disposed upon the opposite ma-rginal edges c-f disev-fifiwhen the bracket: lfifi is 'swung front?:the' position showrr il'fi Figil. 6 towardt disc 96. Ae -disc 96 is -caused 'to reciprocateand rc tate pastithefi grindingwh eel-s lfita the peripheral edge of disc 96 can be easily and quickly sharps ened.

The reversible electric motor 82, switches I20, I28 and I30, and a starter switch I60, are all operably coupled in the conventional manner (not shown) with a suitable source of electric energy. Make and break mechanism is interposed in the circuit and includes as shown in Figs. 1 and 11, two sets of contacts I62 and I64 that are mounted in insulating blocks I66 and I66. Blocks I66 and I68 are carried by arms I10 and In on track 34 and frame I4 respectively. A conventional plug I14 couples the contacts I62with the said source of electrical energy and the contacts I64 are joined with motor 62 and switches I20, I28 and I30, through suitable wiring (not shown) that moves with the machine I2 as the sam travels on surface 36 and track 34. v v g In operation, the machine I2 and the attac ment 38 are moved manually back and forth along surface 36 and track 34 or through use of a suitable prime mover not shown, in the same manner as the cloth spreading machine of my aforesaid patent. As the machine I2 is reciprocated, wheel 48 frictionally riding on surface 36, drives the drum 64 when the machine I2 is moved in one direction, but because of the over-riding clutch within housing 52, drum 64 is not rotated by Wheel 46 when the machine I2 is moved in the opposite direction. drum 64, pulls the cloth 24 from the bolt I8 thereof and feeds the same downwardly between the bars H and I32 for spreading upon the surface 36. While the machine I2 moves away from bracket I10 and returns, a motor 82 is fully inv operable even though switch I66 may be accidentally engaged because of the fact that the circuit is broken through separation of contacts I62 and I64. As soon as contacts I64 are brought into engagement with contacts I62, the circuit is closed at that point and the motor 82 may be energized by closing of the switch I60.

Assumin that the block 92 is at that end of its path of travel shown in Fig. of the drawings, as soon as switch I60 is closed, energization of motor 82 will rotate the shaft 64 through chain 90. As shaft 84 rotates, block 92 will be moved toward the opposite end of its path of travel away from block by virtue of the interconnection between rotatable plug I04 and shaft 84, it being understood that plug I04 rides in the groove 86 and is moved along shaft 84 thereby. Simultaneously, cutter disc 96 is caused to rotate by virtue of the fact that gear I00 is caused to rotate with shaft 84, through key I02, riding in the elongated slot 86 in shaft 84. Such rotation of disc 96 is caused by the operable connection between gears 98 and I00. As the block 82 and the cutter disc 96 carried thereby approach the block 60, the plunger II4 moves against limit switch I and deenergizes the circuit to render motor 82 inoperable. Rotation of shaft 84 will then discontinue and block 92, as well as cutter disc 96, will remain stationary. Additionally, as the block 92 approaches the block 68, bracket H6 will come into contact with that spring I26 adjacent block 68 and move the rod II8 toward the plate to actuate the reversing switch I20 through toggle linkage I22. This sets the circuit and makes motor 82 ready for reverse rotation of the shaft 84. As the rotating disc 96 moves from adjacent block 10 toward the block 68, the suspended cloth 24 is severed immediately below bars H0 and I32. The spreading operation is then repeated and as Such rotation of the soon as contacts I64 engage contacts I62, motor 82 may be energized to operate in the opposite direction for returning block 92 to the position illustrated in Fig. 5.

Again the circuit is deenergized as soon as. plunger II2 contacts the limit switch I28. Additionally, the bracket II6 on block 92 will contactthat spring I26 adjacent block I0 to move the rod II8 toward block I0 and to actuate reversingswitch I20 through toggle linkage I22.-

As the layers of cloth are superimposed upon the surface 36, it will be necessary to progressively raise the cutter 96. Accordingly, the operator. merely turns handle I50 in one direction to TOP; tate shaft I48 and sheaves I46. As the cables I44 wind upon sheaves I46, the entire secondary framework 66 will be elevated by virtu of the.- connection of cables I44 with blocks 68 and 1.0.. Pawl I54 engaging the teeth of ratchet I52, holds the shaft I48 against counter-rotation and maintains the disc 96 in an elevated condition. Disc 96 may be lowered by merely manually releasing pawl I54 and permitting the shaft I48 to rotate in the opposite direction in response to the inherent weight of the entire assembly 66.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cloth cutter, a rotatable member; a carriage reciprocably mounted on said member; a cutter disc rotatably attached to said carriage; means operably interconnecting said carriage and the member for reciprocating the carriage as the member rotates; and structure on the carriage and operably joining said member and the cutter disc for simultaneously rotating the latter as the member rotates and as the carriage reciprocates on the member, said structure including a longitudinal slot formed in said member, a gear on the member and having a key slidable within the slot, and a second gear in mesh with the first mentioned gear and connected with the cutter disc, said gears being reciprocable with the cutter disc, said means including a helical groove formed in the member and parts on said carriage extending into the groove said groove intersecting the slot.

2. In a cloth cutter, a rotatable member; a carriage reciprocably mounted on said member; a cutter disc rotatably attached to said carriage; means operably interconnecting said carriage and the member for reciprocating the carriage as the member rotates; and structure on the carriage and operably joining said member and the cutter disc for simultaneously rotating the latter as the member rotates and as the carriage reciprocates on the member, said means including a helical groove formed in the member and parts on said carriage extending into the groove, said structure including a slot formed in the member parallel with the path of travel of carriage, an element rotatably secured to the carriage and mounted on the member, said element having a part slidable in the slot, and apparatus operably connecting said element and the cutter disc for rotating the latter as the element rotates with the member.

3. In a cloth cutter, an elongated, rotatable shaft; a carriage mounted on the shaft for rectilinear reciprocation longitudinally thereof; a cutter mounted on the carriage for rotation on an axis perpendicular to the path of reciprocation of the carriage; structure for rotating the cutter in response to rotation of the shaft, said structure including power transmission means op- 

